Demons of the Deep
by silvermuse89
Summary: Demons are not just a myth. They are real and have been awakened. With a corrupt priest and a horde of demons after her, who can Yuffie turn to for help? Members of AVALANCHE are also disappearing. Could all of this be connected?
1. Flight

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This is my first story, and I hope it isn't too badly written. It takes place four years after the ending of FF7. Hope you enjoy it, if you haven't been scared off yet!

Disclaimer: I do not own FF7. I do however think it is one of the best games ever, if that counts for anything.

Demons of the Deep

Chapter 1: Flight

Blood. A brilliant red against the polished wooden foods of the Pagoda of the Five Mighty Gods. Now fallen were the Gods, their lives cut tragically short. Their bodies were splayed around on each floor, grotesquely disfigured, their lifeblood painting the floors a crimson red. At the very top of the Pagoda lay the last of the Five Mighty Gods, Godo, leader of Wutai. Though left for dead, the moments he had lived to convey his all-important message gave silent testimony to his strength. At his side was his only daughter, the heir to the throne of Wutai, Yuffie Kisaragi. As silent tears slowly streamed down her face, she tightly clenched the Leviathan materia she held in her hand. The shiny red summon materia was the same one that she had during the days she had spent with AVALANCHE. At the end of her adventures, she had returned it to her father, in the hopes that it would help restore Wutai. Now it was her last memento of her father, besides the few cryptically uttered words, spoken with the last of his breath.

**__**

"Take this," he had said, pressing the materia in her hands, "Use Leviathan's justice to avenge us. You are our last hope. Be brave, my daughter, the times ahead will be fraught with danger."

Yuffie tensed, her moment of reflection gone, as she caught the faint sounds of footsteps, climbing up to the top of the Pagoda. True, it could just be one of the attendants, but considering the massacre that had just occurred and the unhurried steps of the person climbing up, she highly doubted it. Slipping out of the Pagoda using a secret passageway, known only to a few, she hurriedly raced back to her rooms, praying she remained undetected.

As soon as she reached her room, Yuffie quickly gathered up a few clothes, including her mother's favorite kimono (which she had recently begun to wear), as well as a few treasured possessions, such as the Leviathan Scales. Frantically searching for her PHS, she gave a slight exclamation of surprise as she found it under her bed. As she held it up to her ear, planning to call one of the members of AVALANCHE whose current number she knew, she heard a sound that turned her blood to ice coming from the PHS as soon as she pushed a button.

"You can't escape me. It would be foolish to even try. As you are listening to this message, my guards are surrounding your little hideout. There's no way out. And don't try to bother calling one of your little friends, because as soon you hear this message your PHS will deactivate. Look forward to joining your father in the Lifestream."

Yuffie froze, the voice coming from the PHS sounding very familiar. Henshin, the new high priest of Leviathan. She could hardly believe it was he who had committed such an atrocious act. She had always disliked the man, but she found it hard to believe that he was capable of the murder of the five most powerful warriors in Wutai. _'If he can do that, what powers must he hav_e' she thought.

Shaking off her moment of paralysis, Yuffie knew that she had to leave Wutai. With Henshin and his minions (no one besides Sephiroth or a member of Avalanche could have single-handily slain the Five Mighty Gods) after her, Wutai was no longer a safe haven for her. _'My best bet is to reach Midgar, where Cloud and Tifa most likely are. But to get there, I need a plane or a gold chocobo. With my chocobo at Chocobo Bill's, I had better head to Rocket Town to see if Cid could fly me to Midgar.'_ Yuffie grinned, the thought of the grumpy old pilot reviving her spirits a bit.

After she had finished stuffing her knapsack full of all it could hold, she quickly gathered up her equipment. Strapping her Conformer onto her shoulder guard, Yuffie then filled its materia slots with some of her best materia. After putting some more materia in her Minerva Band and checking to make sure her ribbon was secure, she stowed the rest of her materia in her knapsack. As she quietly slipped out of her house, Yuffie prayed that she wouldn't be caught. She did have the element of surprise on her side, since Henshin hadn't known she was in the pagoda. He didn't expect her to use her PHS, but he had rigged it just in case. Therefore, he wouldn't have sent guards to capture her yet, since he was checking to make sure her father and the other warriors were dead. '_Hopefully, I'll be long gone before that bastard sends his goons after me_' she thought, trying to focus on her escape, but her mind kept returning to the image of her father dying on the bloody floor of the Pagoda of the Five Mighty Gods.

= = = = = = = = =

"What do you mean to tell me that she's escaped!?" Henshin bellowed at the unfortunate soldier, who had been chosen to tell him the news.

"Master, by the time we reached her hideout, she was gone. We searched everywhere, to no avail." The soldier cringed, his face white with terror and his knees shaking.

"Fools, the whole lot of you. I tell you capture one puny little girl, and yet she eludes you. Pathetic…. Well, don't just stand there, send someone after her." Henshin glared at the soldier, causing his face to get even whiter.

"Who, my lord?"

"Can't you even think for yourself! Send a couple of Hunters and a Tracker. They are only low-level demonic servants, so even you fools should be able to control them. You'd better not fail this time, or I won't be as lenient with you as I was this time."

"Yes, Master." The soldier bowed, then quickly scurried out of the room, thankful for his life.

Turning back to the ebony black mirror he had been looking at before the servant's arrival, Henshin took out a small ceremonial dagger and swiftly made a small cut at the tip of his finger. Two drops of blood fell onto the mirror, sizzling as they made contact. As another drop splashed onto the mirror, the priest reverently chanted an incantation.

"_Aesir ieth demoniac Azarthacus, morfil ieth sahtiped í llacmor ne fin._"

Thick smoke began to arise from the mirror, as a black shadow with huge red eyes slowly uncoiled itself from the depths of the mirror.

"What do you want now, Henshin?" the shadow asked sinisterly, mentally projecting its thoughts into the priest's mind.

"The girl has escaped. Can you find her?" Henshin asked calmly, not betraying any hint of emotion. Only a very observant person would have noticed the faint lines on the priest's brow, indicating how truly nervous he was.

"I shall try my best to remedy your mistake. However, I expected more of you, Henshin. After all, you had the skill to summon me, yet you lost one little girl." The shadow smiled wickedly, clearly enjoying the predicament the human was in.

"She isn't as weak as I expected. But I won't make that same mistake again. Once I get my hands on her, my plans can be fulfilled." Gazing reflectively at the floor, Henshin didn't notice the demon's sly grin.

"Well then, I shall certainly do my best to find her." Only a fool would have missed the mockery and sarcasm in the mental message and Henshin was no fool.

"Don't forget, you are still under **my** control," the priest said in a hard tone of voice.

"But for how long, that's the question. Now shall we get back to business?"

Henshin knew instinctively that what the demon had just said was no idle threat. '_This is no lower level demon you're dealing with_,' he reminded himself. "Certainly" he said in response to the demon's veiled command.

"Then I shall begin." The shadow bent over the mirror, and slowly whispered a few words, in a language known only to a few. The surface of the mirror slowly darkened from a polished glass to an obsidian-black sheen. No reflection was shown in the bottomless depths of the mirror.

"How can this be!" the demon hissed in a menacing tone that also managed to sound very surprised.

"What's wrong?" Henshin asked, shocked at the surprise evident in the demon's tone.

"I cannot even sense the girl. She must be cloaked by a powerful magic, considering that she is not a mage. Of course, the magic blocking me is powered by her own latent abilities. This is an intriguing change of events."

"Are you sure that she is being cloaked? Your own powers might not be at their best. After all you just recently battled the Five Mighty Gods."

"Do you dare doubt my powers. Killing those pathetic warriors was like taking candy from a baby, to use one of your ridiculous human similes. No, I am positive that the girl is somehow being shielded. Of course, since her mother was quite the sorceress, I should have foreseen this turn of events."

"Well, there is nothing we can do but wait, then is there?" Henshin was very frustrated to find that the girl was protected with such powerful magic.

"We know that the girl is most likely running to her little friends, the members of AVALANCHE. Perhaps something to keep them from having their whole focus on the princess's tale of woe?"

"Perfect. I have just the thing. Princess Yuffie Kisaragi has no chance of escaping me this time." The priest smirked at the thought. "Once I force her to marry me, I shall be become the leader of Wutai. And that's just the beginning."

"Don't forget what you promised me."

"I won't. We agreed that you could declare the Northern Continent as your territory, and I shall definitely keep my word. Just out of curiosity, what do you mean to do with the Northern Continent, Azarthacus?"

"Why, become the King of Demons of course. I shall free all my brethren into this world, provided they acknowledge me as their sovereign, of course." With a wicked smile, Azarthacus disappeared in a puff of smoke, silently chuckling at the gullibility of humans.

"Wait, I didn't release you yet!" Henshin glared at the black mirror; furious at the way the demon had made him look foolish. Then he grimaced; realizing just how powerful the demon had become_. 'Soon I won't be able to control him_' he thought. '_Best use him and then discard him before he can unleash his brethren onto this world. After all, I do want a world that I can rule, not a wasteland._'

= = = = = = = = =

Tifa hummed merrily as she finished wiping the counter. Most of the lunchtime customers had already left the restaurant and only a few stragglers remained. As she glanced at the clock, she noticed that it was already half past one, which meant that it was time to close up until the evening.

"All right guys, time to leave, I'm closing up now. Tifa's Seventh Heaven will open back up at five tonight, if you want to come back for dinner or some drinks."

The few remaining people left grumbled, but slowly made their way out the door. As the last person left, a blonde-haired swordsman strolled in.

"Hey, Tif, how are things going?" Cloud shot the brunette bartender a wide grin as he sat down on one of the stools at the counter.

"Not bad. It was pretty crowded earlier, but it's quiet now, since I've closed up for the afternoon. And, how about yourself, anything exciting happen during training?" Tifa brought a plate over to the counter, depositing it next to the spiky-blonde man, who eagerly started eating.

"Nothing much. We got a few new recruits at the academy, but that's all. Vincent thinks we should hire some more teachers, considering the number of students we're receiving. I'm going to wait until the end of month before making a decision."

Cloud smiled as he glanced down at his hand, where a gleaming golden ring glittered. '_I'm so glad I married Tifa. Even though we only got married a few months ago, I've loved her for so much longer. I was confused about Aeris and how I had felt about her, and I know it must have hurt her. After the whole Sephiroth thing I spent a couple months roaming around, trying to figure out how I felt, and she patiently waited for me. After I came back, we decided to wait a while until we both were positive that we wanted to be with each other. That's when I started the academy. At first, it was just me, but Tifa somehow got Vincent to help out. She said he needed something to do, instead of moping around in that gloomy, old mansion. Now we've got four other teachers, and over a hundred students._' Cloud's reflections were interrupted by the shrill ring of his PHS.

"Hello. This is Cloud speaking."

At first, all he could hear was incoherent babbling. Then he slowly began to pick up some fragments. "…tried to get him…injured…Reeve…"

"Hold on a sec. First of all, who is this, and could you please slow down, I can't understand a word you're saying."

"Sorry, Cloud. This is Elena, and something **_terrible_** has happened. Someone tried to assassinate Reeve, and Rude was seriously injured while protecting the president. Reeve is safe now, but we think the assassins will try again. Could you, and some other members of AVALANCHE come over to help protect Reeve?"

Cloud knew that whatever had occurred was not just an assassination attempt if the Turks were actually asking for help from AVALANCHE. "I'll be right there."

"Thanks." Elena sounded slightly calmer as she said good-bye and hung up the phone.

"What wrong, Cloud?" Tifa looked worried as she silently waited for an answer.

"There's been an assassination attempt on Reeve. The Turks wants AVALANCHE to get over to Neo Shinra headquarters to help."

"Let's go then. We can call the other members on the way."

Cloud nodded in consent, and the two of them quickly left the restaurant, Tifa only pausing to hang a 'Closed' sign on the door.

= = = = = = = = =

"Ugh" Yuffie clutched her stomach in agony as she fought the waves of nausea passing over her. '_I **hate** boats'_ she thought as she staggered to the side and spewed out the remains of her breakfast. '_I can't believe I'm in this predicament anyways. Four years of utter boredom and now I have an evil priest after me. Life can be such a bitch. Things can't get worse than this!_'

It seemed as if Fate was determined to prove her wrong, as the skies rumbled ominously and the first drops of rain came down. Luckily, Yuffie managed to reach land before the real downpour began. Trudging along, hoping to reach Nibelheim before dark, it wasn't long before Yuffie was totally drenched. "Great, just great. What a wonderful 21st birthday present for me. Too bad you're too late. My birthday was two weeks ago." Yuffie muttered angrily, glaring at the skies. The downpour increased as if the skies themselves were mocking her.

Yuffie tried to walk more quickly, a tremendous feat considering the thick mud that made it hard to even walk, as the realization that she was already 21 sank into her. '_Hard to believe I'm already 21. Gawd, it seems like yesterday that we kicked Sephiroth's ass. But here I am 21 and soaking wet, trying to reach a ghost town.'_

After the fall of Shinra, most of the impostors living in Nibelheim to cover up the fact that the real town had been burnt to the ground by Sephiroth had left, since their source of employment was gone. Only a few remained, leaving Nibelheim almost totally deserted. However, almost no monsters were around due to the efforts of Reeve as well as several other members of AVALANCHE, who had helped him with the monumental task of trying to clear away most monsters in the area, as well as in other dangerous areas around the Planet. Finally, it was safe for an ordinary person to wander outside of the towns and cities without coming to harm.

'_Speaking of AVALANCHE, I wonder how everyone's doing…_' Yuffie tried to shake off her thoughts about AVALANCHE, but like everything else, her brain wasn't obeying her. '_It's been more than three years since I've seen them. Of course, some of them wrote, especially Tifa, but since I didn't bother to answer them, they soon stopped writing. Can't blame them, they all thought I was always a materia-stealing little brat, even though I've changed. Too late now. After Cid and Shera's wedding, I realized they would never change their opinions, so I left, to go back home. To Wutai._' Even though it still hurt to think of her friends, she knew she had made the best decision. _'They'd never had accepted me._' So she had returned home to Wutai, helped to restore it, and tried to act like a proper heir. Sometimes though, she wondered what would've happened if she'd stayed in touch with AVALANCHE.

Lost in thought, Yuffie failed to notice that she was being followed…

To Be Continued

= = = = = = = = =

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Like the cliffhanger? I'll try to update soon, but with school, final exams and everything else I probably won't be able to. Please review, any feedback will be appreciated!


	2. Fight

**I am so sorry that this chapter is so late. Excuses as well as review response can be found at the end of the chapter. **

**Disclaimer: The characters and setting of FFVII belong to Squaresoft/SquareEnix. No profit is being made from this fanfiction. **

**With that out of the way, please enjoy the second chapter!**

"Blah" - speaking

_'Blah'_ - thinking

Demons of the Deep

Chapter 2: Fight

The skies rumbled as a howl echoed across the grassland. A figure was bent, nose to the ground as if tracking a scent. Then, the mysterious figure rose in a swift motion and gestured to the southeast. Three more figures sprang from the ground and silently followed, all of them focused on their target.

If someone had been watching, he or she might have mistakenly taken the shadowy figures for wild animals. They would have been partially correct, yet these "beasts" have acted in a surprising intelligent manner. At a closer look, they'd have seen that the figures were a hideous blend of man and beast. Two of the beasts looked like wolf hybrids, another seemed to be a bear, and the last was an exotic cheetah. All of the beasts carried an array of weapons, besides their sharp teeth and claws, and walked upright. All of them were at one time, human. Foolish humans who had thought they could consort with demons and remain unscathed. Now they were the pitiful servants of the ones they had sought to enslave.

= = = = = = = = =

"Let's get down to business now," said Reno after Cloud and Tifa had checked on Reeve's condition and seen that he was quickly recuperating.

As they settled around the table, Tifa spoke up. "Shouldn't we wait for Vincent? He's the only one in Midgar right now, but I have notified the others. I couldn't get in touch with Yuffie at all but everyone else I either was able to talk to or at least leave a message for them about the situation.

"I'm already here so we can continue," a dark voice issued from the shadows.

Elena jumped up in fright before noticing Vincent lounging against the wall. "Don't do that again, Valentine. It's creepy when you sneak up on people like that" she huffed.

"Elena, we **are** Turks. You should have noticed the instant Valentine entered the room," reprimanded Rude.

"Sorry..." Elena hung her head in embarrassment.

"Rude, you mentioned that there was a strange mark left at the site of the assassination attempt, correct?" Cloud asked, his mako-blue eyes focused on the task at hand.

"Yes, here are the photos of the scene. Elena took several pictures of the unusual sigil and has been searching our archives and other sources for any information but hasn't come with anything."

The members of AVALANCHE peered intently at the images shown. The mark mentioned was a large black circle, with jagged spikes jutting out to form a star-like image. Inscribed inside the circle was a mysterious rune that looked similar to the letter A.

A sense of recognition stirred inside Vincent as Chaos awoke inside the depths of his mind. A brief flash of recognition that disappeared as soon as the ebony-haired gunslinger managed to banish the demon from intruding on his conscious thoughts.

_'You have free reign over my dreams - but my mind is my own,'_ he warned the unwelcome presence. Chaos only snickered before retreating. Vincent's attention turned from his internal struggle as the leader of AVALANCHE spoke.

"The best clue we have to the identity of the would-be assassin would be this symbol," Cloud announced to the members in the room.

Reno rolled his eyes at the obvious statement and opened his mouth to reply but was silenced by a fierce glare from Tifa.

"What do you suggest we do then?" Rude asked after a brief pause.

"Split up and search for any information on the symbol or any other clues," Tifa said, glancing at Cloud.

Cloud nodded in confirmation. "Tifa and I will travel to Cosmo Canyon. We can met up with Red XIII there and search the extensive library. Vincent, why don't you-" Cloud was abruptly cut off by Vincent's calm statement.

"I will go to Nibelheim. That is where most of Hojo's research is located. This matter is somehow related to his experiments... and the my demons." With that, Vincent swiftly made his way to the door and disappeared.

"Geez, I can never tell what that freakin' vampire is thinking..." Reno remarked in the wake of silence left by the gunslinger's abrupt exit.

= = = = = = = = =

Vincent carefully packed the meager belongings he deemed necessary to bring from his apartment before quickly making his way to a large brick building on the outskirts of Midgar. The building was the 'Strife Academy of Swordsmanship and Self-dense' as the sign above the oak doors proudly proclaimed.

The academy that Cloud had started was one of the premier training schools in Midgar. Vincent never thought that he'd become a teacher but he surprising enjoyed teaching. Of course the subjects he taught - Advanced Marksmanship and Battle Strategy, weren't subjects that were taught at most schools.

After picking up some more ammunition from his office, Vincent made his way to the Chocobo stable at the back of the school. Knowing that Cloud would take care of his absence from the academy, without a second thought, the gunslinger saddled his gleaming black Chocobo, Obsidian, and headed for Nibelheim.

= = = = = = = = =

Yuffie was relieved to notice that she was finally approaching Nibelheim. Contrary to popular belief, trudging through the rain for hours was **_not_** a pleasant experience and in no way, shape or form did it build moral character.

Yuffie's philosophical musing were cut short as she stumbled over a small stone embedded in the ground, falling flat on her rear. That fall, however, saved her life as two sharp daggers flew right past where she had previously been standing.

"What the-" Yuffie's shriek of surprise was abruptly cut off as she spun 180 degrees in the air before back-flipping to avoid decapitation by the whirling twin axes wielded by a huge black bear/human hybrid. The bear hybrid growled in frustration at Yuffie's successful evasion of his attack and was caught unaware of the sleek ninja stars flung at him by the infuriated shinobi.

The sharp missiles hit their target but barely caused any damage, serving only to anger the black monster, who increased the ferocity of his attacks. Yuffie was in for more trouble as more daggers whizzed through the air. Though she easily dodged most of them, one dagger nicked the side of her cheek, leaving a shallow cut.

The sharp sting of pain helped the girl focus on the battle - which would take all her skill to win, the normally optimistic ninja admitted to herself as two more shadows materialized in front of her before solidifying into wolf/human hybrids. The silver wolf hybrid was equipped with a polished broadsword while the dark brown wolf carried a wicked-looking spear.

_'A Knights of the Round summon materia would really come in handy right now'_ Yuffie thought angrily as she threw her Conformer at the approaching wolf hybrids, leaving a deep slash across the left arm of the sword-wielder. The silver wolf howled a savage challenge before lunging at the ninja and attempting to knock her unconscious with the flat of the blade. The brown wolf hybrid and the black bear surrounded Yuffie to prevent her escape.

_'It seems that they are trying to capture me rather than kill me. I wonder why......**Henshin**! Well, I'm not going to be dragged back to Wutai this easily. I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.' _

" Bahumat ZERO " Yuffie called out, tilting her Conformer to reveal the shiny red summon materia and activating it. The materia glowed a dark crimson as the six-winged black metal dragon appeared, swooping down upon her opponents. The summoned dragon let out a huge roar as a huge, glowing ball of light blasted towards the enemies. The brown wolf and black bear hybrids were knocked back by the blast and left temporarily stunned. Meanwhile Yuffie jumped back to avoid being knocked unconscious by the silver wolf hybrid before throwing her Conformer at the monster, successfully knocking the sword out of the creature's grasp.

_'That teaches them to mess with Yuffie Kisaragi, ninja extraordinaire!' _she thought triumphantly before continuing the battle.

She swiftly managed to defeat the silver wolf hybrid without incurring too many injuries. Surprisingly, the remains of the hybrid disappearing as soon as she'd dealt a fatal blow. However, just after she'd managed to dispatch the brown wolf hybrid with a Comet2 and a few swings of her Conformer, another foe appeared.

The monster was another strange human and beast hybrid, albeit a bit more exotic. The tawny yellow pelt and feline grace of the creature showed the jaguar half of the hybrid but the ease that the creature had in handling the sharp daggers grasped in its hands revealed its human origins.

"Hmph...So you're the coward that's been hiding in the shadows tossing daggers while I've been busy with your little friends? Well, you'll find that Yuffie Kisaragi is more than a match for you as well as that bastard Henshin. Bring it on!" Yuffie glared challengingly at the jaguar hybrid.

"Foolish mortal. You think that fool Henshin is our master. We may serve him for now but our true master is much more powerful. No one, especially not a puny human princess like you, can foil the plans of ... " The jaguar's boasting was cut short by Yuffie's scream of pure rage.

_'No one calls me a puny princess and gets away with it!' _she thought angrily.

"Fire3" Yuffie called out.

The enraged shinobi had activated another shimmering green orb inserted in her Conformer. A huge pillar of fire erupted at the same location in which the hybrid was standing. The jaguar managed to escape from the middle of the flaming pillar, but still was slightly burned. In retaliation, numerous daggers were sent flying towards the ninja. None of the sharp missiles hit any vital spots but Yuffie still received several minor injuries.

_'I'd better finish this fast. I'm tiring quickly and can't afford to lose much more blood.' _Yuffie threw her Conformer at the jaguar hybrid, hoping to catch it off-guard. She then summoned another Comet2 before the hybrid could react, dealing a massive amount of damage to the jaguar.

Intent upon defeating the jaguar hybrid, Yuffie almost didn't notice the black bear hybrid behind her. Only her quick reflexes allowed her to evade the blunt axe aimed for the back of her head. However, as the shinobi twisted away from the bear hybrid, she slipped on a patch of wet grass. Yuffie fell, hitting her head hard against the ground.

Disoriented by the fall, Yuffie couldn't dodge as the bear hybrid slammed a clawed fist at her head. The impact caused the ninja to slump limply on the ground. The last thing she heard before she slipped into the welcomed darkness was the sound of two sharp gunshots.

To Be Continued

Like I said, I'm very sorry that this chapter is so late. The battle sequence took me ages! Plus I was distracted by the discovery of the wonderful manga/anime Rurouni Kenshin as well as Saiyuki (latest obsession!). Thanks so much for all the kind reviews.

**Skin infections**: I'm glad you like the plot so far. However, there's lots of plot twist ahead. Hope you keep reading!

**Hotaru170**: Thank you for all your kind words. I'm glad you like Yuffie and Vincent, since they're going to be the main characters. Yuffie is my favorite female character and I love Vincent, but I must admit that Sephiroth is my favorite character in FF7.

**Demon Angel Tsukai**: Glad that you like the beginning. My brother thought I had too many 'big words' but I tried to be descriptive. Hope it worked! About the story being Vincent/Yuffie, I have to tell you to wait until the next chapter but who do you think rescued Yuffie? First reviewer to get it right wins a cookie!

I hope everyone liked this chapter. Please review, any feedback is greatly appreciated. I'll try to post the as-yet-unwritten chapter 3 by the end of September but I can't promise anything since school is starting soon and I'm taking three AP classes. Thanks for reading!

Silvermuse89


	3. Fright

This will be my last chapter of Demons of the Deep for quite a while. I have lost the inspiration that I once had for this fanfic and am not as interested in FFVII as I once was. There is a missing scene to this chapter that will be added if I ever decide to continue the story. I humbly apologize to my reviewers - I have greatly appreciated all the reviews.

"Blah" - speaking

'Blah' - thinking

Demons of the Deep

Chapter 3: Fright

Vincent brushed his rain-soaked bangs away from his eyes. He had traveled at a strenuous pace for the past three hours and now, with his superior vision, he could just barely make out the ruins of Nibelheim.

"Just a few more minutes" he murmured softly to Obsidian, his black Chocobo. "As soon as we get to the mansion, we can dry off. There's some Greens for you in my saddlebag."

Obsidian warked weakly in response and sped up slightly.

The rain had started less than an hour ago. Quite heavy at first, it had thoroughly drenched both rider and Chocobo. Now, the rain had lightened to a steady drizzle, but it was enough to make the unpleasant journey even more difficult.

Vincent had not wanted to return to Nibelheim. Though Hojo had been dead for over four years, and even Lucrecia's ghost had disappeared from her hidden cave, the mere thought of Nibelheim and the empty coffin waiting in the dark basement reopened old wounds.

'Trying to keep the demons at bay. Oh wait … you're too late, since you are one after all.' Chaos taunted, as he heard the dark thoughts swirling through the gunslinger's mind. _'Of vourse the real question is whose more of a monster … you or us?'_

Chaos taunted, as he heard the dark thoughts swirling through the gunslinger's mind. 

The demon teasingly brought up images from Vincent's previous life, before Hojo's experimentations, when he had been a Turk. Images of blood and death and murder; images of a killer without a shred of mercy.

Vincent winced as he fought to keep Chaos from emerging. Memories of the past had a way of unleashing the demons he had been cursed with. Sometimes he thought that it would just be better if he gave it all up and embraced Death but Hojo's punishment prevented that. He wondered if life would just be a series of long days and endless nights until the Planet chose to end his miserable existence.

He knew that the "life" he had in Midgar would end soon enough. He'd decided to end the farce as soon as the current matter was resolved. Staying in Midgar was too dangerous considering the tenuous leash he had on Chaos. The best way to atone for his crimes was to lock himself back up in the coffin waiting so inviting in the depths of the Nibelheim mansion. The only reason he'd decided to work on the case, besides the debt he owed to Cloud and the rest of AVALANCHE, was the sneaking suspicion that Chaos knew something about the mysterious symbol at the site of the attempted assassination.

'A normal life was never meant for a mons-' Vincent's morbid thoughts were cut off as Obsidian abruptly stopped with a muffled wark.

Right by the outskirts of Nibelheim, a battle was taking place. The flaming pillar raging by the small grove of trees indicated the use of a Fire3. With his enhanced vision, Vincent could just barely make out a small human figure fighting against a jaguar-like creature that stood upright. On the ground was another creature - one that resembled a bear; that he assumed was dead.

He urged Obsidian to move closer to the scene of the battle, wondering if any assistance was needed. He doubted it considering the high-level materia the unknown fighter possessed, as he watched Comet2 being unleashed upon the jaguar creature. However, he saw that the bear-creature that he had assumed was dead was only unconscious, and had already regained consciousness as it slowly rose and loomed over the cloaked human figure. Reacting too late the fighter twisted to evade the attack but fell, landing heavily on the ground. The bear figure slammed a fist against the fallen figure but only managed to land a glancing blow.

By this time Vincent had already unsheathed the Death Penalty and swiftly fired two shots. Both bullets hit their intended target; an amazing feat considering the distance and unfavorable weather conditions. The bear-creature let out a fierce roar as the bullets pierced its skin before dissipating into dust particles soon dispersed by the wind.

Vincent dismounted near the fallen fighter and scanned the surrounding area to check if any enemies were left. The Coemt2 had killed the jaguar-creature and no other creatures remained. Crouching next to the unconscious figure, he drew back the hood of the cloak covering the fighter to reveal the face of a member of AVALANCHE that he had not seen for years.

'…Yuffie?' The girl - no - woman's delicate features were reminiscent of the elfin face of the youngest AVALANCHE member. She had matured over the four years but retained her slender build and mischievous look. However, she did seem to have outgrown her trademark tank top and shorts, and was wearing a navy blue cloak over a black training outfit, both of which were thoroughly soaked by the rain and clung to her slim form.

Vincent gently carried her unconscious figure to where Obsidian stood, and mounted up, with Yuffie cradled against him as he made his way to the Nibelheim mansion. _'So much for a quiet, uneventful mission,'_ he thought, as he puzzled over the mystery of the young ninja's presence in Nibelheim.

(scene change)

Henshin let out a growl as the four figurines on his desk flickered, and then broke apart. So his Hunters had failed to capture the impudent little princess. He was surprised that a mere human had destroyed the supernatural creatures Azaethacus had provided him with, but he knew not to underestimate the girl. After all, hadn't she been part of the legendary team that had defeated Sephiroth.

He would have to send a retrieval team composed of mercenaries, to bring her back if at all possible. If not, removing her would leave the throne open, and as the High Priest of Leviathan, he did have a legitimate claim.

With his course of action towards the wayward princess successfully planned out, Henshin turned his thoughts towards the other members of AVALANCHE.

(scene change)

Vincent lifted his eyes from the thick stack of files he'd managed to unearth from Hojo's secret laboratory. The experimentations Hojo had done were all unpleasant, at best, and after over an hour of looking through the extensive notes, Vincent was more than ready to take a break.

Deciding to check on Yuffie to see if she'd regained conscious yet, the stoic gunman quietly stepped into the room where he'd put the bedraggled ninja. The mansion was in deplorable condition and it had been a daunting task to find a room not covered in inches of dust.

/missing scene/

Yuffie awoke to the soothing scent of chicken broth. She blinked her blearily eyes and winced at the bolt of pain that shot though her head at that slight motion. Turning her head, she noticed a warm, steaming bowl of soup had been placed near her bedside. Sitting next to the bed was a tall, dark man - handsome in a morbid poet sorta way - presumably the one who had made the soup. He was inclined in an uncomfortable looking, straight-backed wooden chain, fast asleep but still seemingly alert. _'I don't even want to think of the back cramp he's going to have when he wakes up'_ the shin obi thought to herself, ignoring the pounding headache she had.

She examined his scarlet and ebony attire with interest but what really caught her attention was the huge golden claw that protruded from his left arm. A prosthesis of some sort she surmised but what kind of madman would replace a hand with a torture some device such as that? She was beginning to feel like she was in a third rate horror movie.

Yuffie's unease increased exponentially when she realized that she had no idea where she was … and no idea **who** she was. The cumulous thoughts rolling through her head came to a standstill as the man she had been examining abruptly opened his eyes - his inhuman, crimson eyes.

The only show of surprise at finding her awake the man gave was a startled blink. "Are you feeling better?" he inquired.

The disquiet and frustration Yuffie had been experiencing exploded into a furious torrent of words.

"Who are you, where are we, and most importantly who the hell am I?" she demanded angrily.

To be continued (hopefully)

I apologize for taking so long to update - this chapter has been languishing half-finished on my computer for months. Thanks for taking the time to read and if you are looking for any other Vincent/Yuffie fanfics I would recommend:

Why Me? A Love Story for Manic Depressives by Dust Traveller

Ninja by Kai-ou-sama

Faith and Feather by Rose Flame

Lonely Miracle by Rose Flame

Grey Sky Morning by Rose Flame

Obsidian by Sentora

Sink to the Bottom With You by Catalina

To the reviewers:

Both **Demon Angel Tsukai and Hotaru170 **guessed correctly that Vincent would rescue Yuffie. However it seems that Yuffie may be in even deeper trouble!

As a reward, I am dedicating this story to both **Demon Angel Tsukai and Hotaru170**. Thank you both for your encouraging words.

Hotaru170: I loved reading your uplifting review, it certainly brightened my day. Thanks for reading!

Thunder Glow: I hope you enjoy the short battle scene in this chapter as well. Thanks for reading!

AEris Deathscythe: I apologize for not updating sooner. Thanks for reading!

Demon Angel Tsukai: For being the first reviewer to correctly answer the question, you receive a plate of (virtual) cookies! Thanks for reading!

As of 12/25/04 (Merry Christmas everyone!) Demons of the Deep is officially on hiatus.


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